Massey Ferguson 124 string issue

Awilson · Jul 19, 2018

A friend of mine has a 124 Massey square baler it is
baling banana shaped bales we have put new hay
wedges dog springs. It has supposedly been timed
by the new holland dealer. Today we were baling
with it and adjusted the twine tensioner on the
knotters and it seemed to get better but every once
in a while there is a bale that is a banana. What is
the problem here?

DavidP, South Wales · Jul 19, 2018

Hi, assuming that all is ok with the packers, the cord is threaded correctly and there are no places on the bale casing or porcelain eyes where the cord could drag then the problem is likely to be with the cord tensioner. You have adjusted it but have you taken it apart? Even a baler with moderate usage is likely to have grooves in the plates worn by the cord passing through. If this is the case tightening it will make little difference. Plate wear can be built up with weld and then sanded to a smooth surface. I had an MF 20 baler, predecessor to the 124 and always found that keeping the row as close as I could to the bale case gave a better, straighter bale.
DavidP, South Wales.

Awilson · Jul 19, 2018

We have tried adjusting the packers before and had no change we polished up the tensioner on the twine box and flipped the glass insulator around to there isn?t a groove for the twine to hang up on. We haven?t taken the knotter tensioner apart we just cleaned the knotters. Do you mean keep the hay closer to the bale chamber?

DavidP, South Wales · Jul 19, 2018

Hi, are you referring to the twine retainer disc which is actually part of the knotter mechanism? Problems here will normally give loose knots not banana bales. Not too familiar with the 124 as most of my experience is with NH. The twine tensioner is normally found at the end of the cord box. Yes, keeping the row to the left means that it has less distance to travel into the chamber especially if the crop is short.
D

marloweg · Jul 19, 2018

feed it faster with bigger windrows

Awilson · Jul 19, 2018

We adjusted the springs on the knotter and the twine tensioner on the box.

Paul V B · Jul 19, 2018

Banana bales every once in a while is caused by the uneven feeding of hay into the bale chamber by the packing fingers. The twine tensioner at the twine box affects the tying of the knot.

Awilson · Jul 20, 2018

How do you fix the occasional banana bake issue or do you just have to keep the thinner hay closer to the bale chamber?

jamstra · Jul 20, 2018

Got it exactly - speed up when baling the thinner rows, and feed them in as close to the bale chamber side of the pickup as you can. Applies to NH small balers too! Jim

Awilson · Jul 20, 2018

Also we noticed that one string is about 1? longer than he other side what does this mean?

Mike in Mn. · Jul 20, 2018

Read the posts here, some good ideas. I bale with a Massey and a New holland, I prefer the Massey, pulls lighter and runs quieter than the New holland and makes absolutely beautiful bales. One thing that wasn't mentioned was to keep the plunger knife razor sharp and set close, I keep mine right at 5 or 6 thousands clearance. You want to sheer that hay off clean without any bind or pull on the knife side and I like to keep the bales right at 36 inches long and tight. Also rake a large windrow and stuff all the hay she will eat, I use 3 different speeds when I bale and keep her stuffed full all the time, makes way nicer bales. With that knife sharp and fairly dry hay I haven't sheered a pin in years.

DavidP, South Wales · Jul 21, 2018

I would agree with you Mike that the mouth should be kept full when baling. The key-word here is consistency. By all means increase the size of the rows but only to the point that you get a consistent flow going through. If the crop stsrts to back up then you are travelling too fast. Ensure that the pto is run at the crrect speed. The pto speed on my '20' baler was 610rpm not 540 as on most others. The 124 may be the same. I will try and find out. If the rows are big and you travel too fast you run the risk of blockage or breakdown and that's no good to anyone.
By the way, how is your weather over there? In the UK the weather has been incredibly hot with no rain to speak of for the last 40 days or so. It's hit crop quality and quantity badly with some crops barely worth mowing and baling. Bale prices are already beginning to climb as a result of this. Is it any drier than normal wherever you are?
Cheers DavidP

Mike in Mn. · Jul 25, 2018

DavidP, you asked about the weather, it's been too wet here for about 6 years in a row now. We just finished 1st cut hay yesterday, the Massey banged out 514 and never missed a beat. In a more normal year we would be done before the 1st of July, years back we would be done by the middle of June and get 3 cuttings, now it's only 2. It's been hot and humid this year, many day's in the upper 90's, but so much humidity, grows a lot of hay but you can't get it dry.Prices are up some here this year also, it's been an extremely tough year to make good hay, just won't stop raining. Have a good one!

Massey Ferguson 124 string issue

Awilson

Member

DavidP, South Wales

Well-known Member

Awilson

Member

DavidP, South Wales

Well-known Member

marloweg

Well-known Member

Awilson

Member

Paul V B

Member

Awilson

Member

jamstra

Member

Awilson

Member

Mike in Mn.

Member

DavidP, South Wales

Well-known Member

Mike in Mn.

Member

Similar threads